Label holder



Jan. 20, 1970 M. T. PHELPS 3,490,264

' LABEL HOLDER Original Filed April 28, 1964 ATTORNEYS United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 72-339 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE By coining or forging the edges of a sheet metal workpiece in the regions where attachment lugs extend therefrom, the lugs are caused to be laterally inset with respect to the prole so that an improved mounting for the de vice so formed is achieved.

This invention relates to label holders for attachment, for example, to drawer heads, shelf panels, door panels or the like; for the purpose of holding tiling drawer labels, name plates, or the like in readily viewable position. More specifically the invention relates to improvements in devices of the type shown for example in U.S. Patents 1,621,393 and 1,807,804, and is a division of my copending U.S. application Ser. No. 363,128, tiled Apr. 28, 1964 now Patent 3,321,855.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a label holder as aforesaid which comprises a single integrally formed, frame-like device, stamped from sheet metal stock and having attachment lug portions integrally formed therewith to extend rearwardly from the front panel portion of the device in improved manner.

Another object is to provide an improved label holder as aforesaid which is adapted to be mounted upon a front plate (of a filing cabinet drawer, or the like) which is pre-punched to receive the holder attachment lugs in slip-fitted relation therethrough, whereupon the framing portion of the device covers and conceals from View in improved manner the front plate perforations.

Another object is to provide an improved device as aforesaid which is designed so as to be susceptible of fabrication by only simple and inexpensive manufacturing processes.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the specification hereinafter and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective View of a label holder of the invention shown in disassembled relation to a front plate upon which it is to be mounted;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational View of the holder if FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section, on enlarged scale, taken as suggested by line 3 3 of FIG. l but showing the parts in assembling positions. v y

The invention is illustrated, by way of example here in, as being embodied in a label holder designated generally at adapted for mounting upon a filing cabinet front plate, drawer head, or the like as indicated at 12, for the purpose of carrying a label card or the like as indicated at 14 (FIG. 1). More specifically, the outwardly appearing configuration of the holder device of the invention may resemble any preferred frame-like or open panel form, such as to comprise Vertical side legs 11i-'16, a top runner portion 18, and a bottom runner portion 20; combining to define a centrally disposed open window 21 through which the label 14 will appear when slip-fitted therebehind. As shown herein, the side and bottom runner portions of the holder device are perimetrally margined by rearwardly turned ange portions 3,490,264 Patented Jan. 20, 1970 ICC terminating in a common plane so as to snugly it against the front plate 12 when the device is mounted thereon, vwhile the top runner portion 18 is cut back somewhat as indicated at 22 (FIG. l) to provide a free space between the top runner portion and the mounting plate 12, for gravity slide-tted reception of the label card 14 therein. It will be understood, however, that in lieu of the specific arrangement as shown in the drawing herewith, the open slot formation for reception of the name plate or label card may be otherwise located, such as at either end of the device for endwise insertion and removable thereof. Also it will be understood that any desired number of lugs as indicated at 24 may be provided at any preferred positions perimetrally of the holder for slip-fitting insertion through complementary-shaped and positioned apertured portions 26 of the front Plate 12.

The present invention features the provision of a new and improved holder mounting lug arrangement, as will now be explained in detail. The holder and mounting lug system comprises a single-piece integral stamping from a sheet stockpiece of any suitably malleable material, such as soft aluminum, ferrous or non-ferrous alloys, steel, or the like. The vblank for the device is first struck out of a fiat stockpiece by any standard blanking-die operation. The edge anges and attachment lug portions are then bent rearwardly therefrom; and the piece is then coined or cold-forged into the finished form of the device by a subsequent pressing operation. The piece may then of course be subjected to any necessary or desired nal finishing operations, as may be preferred.

During the forming operation the internal and external rim portions as indicated at 28, 30, respectively, are turned rearwardly, thereby throwing the lug portions 24 rearwardly and to extend normal to the front surface plane of the device; the rear edge faces of the anges 30 being disposed further rearwardly than are the rear edge faces of the flanges 28. The forging or coining operation is then performed with the result that the flanges 30 are increased in thickness so as to provide rear faces thereon of such width as to provide the shoulders 32 which as shown in FIG. 3 extend outwardly beyond the planes of the outer faces of the lugs 24. The rear faces of the flanges 30 after the cold-forming thickening operation, remain in a plane disposed behind the plane of the rear faces of the anges 28, so as to provide the requisite clearance to accommodate the label card 14. It will be seen that the inner rim portion 28 projects a short distance rearwardly beyond the rear surface plane of the member, and the outer rim portion 30 projects to a still greater distance rearwardly thereof to meet the face plate 12 when the holder is mounted thereon. Thus, it is a particular feature of the present invention that the coining operation positions the lug portions 24 inwardly of the prole view outside marginal edges of the outer flange portion 30, whereby the sharp-angled shoulder portions 32 flank the lugs 24 and cover from view the front plate apertures 26 through which the lugs 24 pass when the device is mounted on the front plate. The lugs may then be either twisted behind the front plate or bent over therebehind as indicated by their broken line showings in FIG. 3, to lock the holder to the front plate.

Thus, it will be seen that by means of only a minimum of operating steps the device of the invention may be fabricated from flat sheet metal stock or the like; and that the finished article is of improved form because when mounted on the front plate the sharp shoulder formations as shown at 32 overhang and cover all evidences of the front plate apertures, as distinguished from results obtained by prior sheet metal fabrications for the same purpose. For example, a holder device made by simply bending the lug portions rearwardly from the front panel portion would invariably result in drawing the metal of the adjacent flange portion 30 inwardly along with the lug portion, so that no overhanging sharp-angled shoulder portion as illustrated at 32 (FIG. 3) herein is attalnable, for covering from View the front plate apertures. Also, the holder is of an inherently stable structural form because the bent tlange formations 28, 30, which margin the framing portions of the holder, both internally and externally, provide a rectangularly-shaped channel-sectioned structure which is highly resistant to any bending or torsional stresses. Also, the cold-forging or coining operation above referred to work-hardens the metal as it assumes its iinal configuration. This is an important feature because the top rail portion 18 is thereby rigidied against any distortion such as would disfigure the device and/or close the card insert gap as a result of blows thereagainst as are normally encountered when such devices are in use.

It will of course be appreciated that Whereas only one form of the device has been illustrated and described in detail hereinabove, various changes may be made therein Without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. The method of making label holders which comprises the steps of:

cutting a blank from a fiat metal sheet of uniform thickness into open generally Arectangular form having inner and outer edges and having outwardly projecting lugs on at least two of the opposite outer edges of the blank,

bending back the metal of the blank adjacent the inner edges thereof to provide inner rims extending rearwardly from the plane of the blank by a predetermined amount,

bending back the metal of the blank adjacent said two opposite outer edges and only one of the intervening outer edges to provide outer rims extending rearwardly from the plane of the blank by an amount greater than said predetermined amount,

and cold forging the rearwardly facing faces of said outer rims, exclusive of said lugs, into a common plane spaced from the plane of the blank by an amount greater than said predetermined amount to thicken said outer rims while confining such forging to the rearwardly facing faces of said outer rims and outer side areas adjacent said lugs so that all of such areas dene surfaces lying in a common plane.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/ 1882 Croak et al 40-325 11/1929 Kortz 40-16 9/ 1936 Templeton 113-116 6/ 1945 Sherman 72-377 E. M. COMBS, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. XR. 

